Media Task: Music Video Analysis

Arabella: Arctic Monkeys

Overall the video like most of the album is a "Motif of passion's incessant pull, both for better and for worse, with the titular woman's unavoidable appeal".

The video begins and shows a clip from a film real that someone is looking at that shows a promiscuous woman of whom we presume is Arabella in a series of shots ranging from close ups to medium long shots of her actions, the close ups are to show her expensive clothes so we get an idea of the character she is. The song then starts with a simple drum beat and a rhythm guitar which sets the calm rhythm before a sharp note from another guitar cuts over the top which is repeated throughout the music track along with a riff which is a collection of notes that are played together to make a tune. The riffs and sharp notes could be used to show how different Arabella is to others. The main two or three actresses all portray the character of Arabella who is a mix of the lead singers girlfriend/ fiancé and the character from the film Barbarella, references are used throughout which link the song with the film such as "She's got a Barbarella silver swimsuit" . The video shows the characters outgoing and wild nature as well as the bands enthusiastic and energetic approach to making the music they love.

A Lyric used is “My days end best when the sunset gets itself behind, That lady sitting on the passenger side” The fact that she rides in the passenger seat could be hinting that The lead singer Alex likes to remain dominant in the relationship, he likes to ‘drive’ it forward.

The mise-en-scene in the music video is very different to most modern day music videos as it is telling the story of and woman from an older era therefore is set in the past where the clothes where very sophisticated; clothes such as suits, black dresses, shirts and leopard skin coats. The costume all together portrays an upper class, sophisticated selection of people. The acting in the video is what catches the eye more than anything because the people are acting in a way that you wouldn't normally expect from upper class people as they are acting childish and rowdy in most of the scenes excluding the first one. Throughout the full video it is only the females who are acting in a rowdy more sexual way and this may be because in those days it was the females job to do as the male says and to almost be a housewife while the man works and relaxes. The makeup and hair of the characters show the males with slick back, well groomed hair and the females with long curled hair and large amounts of make up mainly lipstick, this again could be linked to them being wealthy and self indulgent.

The full video is in black and white that adds to the old fashioned, set in the past, feel that the video is showing. This maybe also to divert most of the attention to what is going on in the clip rather that some of it being lost in all the colours. The black and white or greyscale filter is usually used on indie rock videos so it shows they are sticking to the conventions of their genre. Throughout the video fast jump cuts are made and the video is sped up and re-winded quickly this could be to show the characters fast paced lifestyle. An effect is used throughout makes video look like it is on a film reel as you see the black lines as the footage scrolls this is a good effect that makes the video more immersive and adds the old fashioned feel that the video has.

Throughout the full clip the camera is never steady and almost feels as if someone is filming it with a hand held camcorder, this makes us feel like the whole production was made by them as there is no professionalism about the way the camera is used or positioned specifically. it also makes us feel like we are there in the scene because we as humans don't have steady vision as we tend to move about and glance around quite frequently. This immersive technique as well as making us feel like we are within the scene also connects us more with the lyrics and the production as a whole. During the video there is a multitude of close ups on the lead singer which capture his facial expressions in great detail so we can see his passion for music and the character who is being described.